HELL NO!

FRIENDS OF MASSYS

Massys Wood otherwise known as Lord Massy's woods - the spelling is variously Massey or Massy, came into the ownership of the Irish State in ~1924 following the collapse of the estate of the Massey family who had owned the lands for many years. It is a tragic talk we told in the book by Frank Tracy

"If those trees could speak, and those mountains could see, many a tale would hear".

Hugh Hamon Charles, 8th Baron Massy (1894 - 1958)

The words and derelict garden where are the grounds of Lord Masseys house Kilakee house a splendid building which was opposite to the Dower house on the Hellfire/Montpellier side of the road. The remains of a fountain and balustrade can still be seen in the undergrowth. Kilakee house itself was taken over by a bank which sold the house to a builder in 1941. The builder sold the house off in pieces, selling the roof timbers floors and windows and finally demolished the remainder.

A glasshouse by the renowned architect Richard Turner once graced the walled gardens. The foundations of this glasshouse can be seen still. It is believed that the glasshouse frame is stored in a garden somewhere under safekeeping in Dublin although the exact location has been lost.

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The Friends of Massy Wood was formed in the middle 80's in order to protect and preserve this extraordinary asset for visitors and families to celebrate the wildlife in the unique forest of deciduous trees.